Rob Eddy describes evolution of Info-graphics’ work over the years

“Back then, 75 percent or more of our work was print,” Rob Eddy of Info-graphics told us recently. “Today, 60 percent involves digital of some sort.”

The President of the firm whose motto is “complex information simplified” was responding to a question we asked about the changes in the firm’s work mix since we posted our first article in early 2012. That article published about a month after we launched teknovation.biz, and Eddy and I have kept in contact over the ensuing years.

We seem to catch-up at the start of every year, and we did so again in early February after receiving the company’s less than two-minute 2017 highlight reel that showcases the significant evolution in the type and sophistication of the work it performs for its clients.

“We are still doing print-based instructions,” Eddy said, citing work for Rubbermaid, a client for about 20 years. “We are, however, doing a lot more digital, particularly 2D and 3D animation.”

Evolution into that space has been enhanced by a partnership with CodeTank Labs we noted in last year’s annual update on Info-graphics (now known more simply as IG). That relationship was enhanced later in 2017 when CodeTank Labs relocated to space in the Cherokee Mills Building adjacent to Info-graphics. Both companies remain separate entities.

Eddy noted that the addition of more animation requires new investments in software and hardware, all to keep-up with customer needs that he continues to describe this way: “We’re living in the show me, don’t tell me era.”

Watching the highlight reel is a good way to see the ways that Info-graphics takes a client’s content and displays it in the most effective way. There are also examples on the firm’s webpage that showcase work with well-known brands like Viking, Briggs & Stratton, Rubbermaid, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Duraline, and the United Way of Greater Knoxville.

Two of the recent projects that Eddy discussed were: (1) the development of an interactive tool on a tablet for a client that empowered field technicians for a generator company to be more efficient in understanding and solving problems; and (2) a visual explanation of a new product called the Grind2EnergyTM food waste recycling system from Emerson.

What’s in the future?

“We’re developing some new tools and demos using augmented reality,” Eddy says, explaining that, at least at this stage, the Info-graphics team thinks it is more promising that its cousin – virtual reality. As it expands the technologies that the firm is using, Eddy says he is always looking for new partners to provide content.